NCAA: Denver Pioneers win the 2004 National Championship

By DJ Powers

April 11th, 2004

NCAA: University of Denver Pioneers, 2004 National Champions

It was a battle of two excellent defensive teams led bytwo superb goaltenders. But when it was all over, it was the underdogUniversity of Denver Pioneers who would win the 2004 National Championship. ThePioneers defeated the University of Maine Black Bears 1-0 in a very tightdefensive game.

Before the game started, it was announced that Denver seniorLukas Dora had been suspended due toviolating team rules. Dora was however present to cheer on his Pioneersteammates.

Both teams were excellent defensively, but it would be theineffective power play that would eventually lead to Maine’s demise.

The pace of the game was off to an excellent start,particularly by the Pioneers who were skating very well.

Denver senior MaxBull received the first penalty of the game at the 3:39 mark for hittingfrom behind, putting the Maine Black Bears on the power play. Maine’s powerplay had struggled in the post-season, and the national title game wouldn’t beany different.

At the 5:05 mark, junior Derek Damon appeared to have put the Black Bears on the board onthe power play with a nice sweeping backhander behind Pioneers goaltender Adam Berkhoel (CHI). However, the goalwould be disallowed due to freshman MikeHamilton (ATL) having the toe of his skate in the crease.

Although the disallowed goal appeared to take a bit of thewind out of the Black Bears’ sails, Maine continued to fight to get back on theboard.

One area that Denver was quite effective was on theiraggressive forechecking and physical play. The Pioneers effectively used thebody, particularly when play was along the boards.

At the 11:49 mark, Maine junior defenseman Matthew Deschamps would be called forInterference, putting the Pioneers on the power play. The Pioneers possess anexcellent power play and the game’s only goal came on a Denver power play. Atthe 12:26 mark, sophomore Gabe Gauthiergot the Pioneers on the board. Gauthier tallied his 18th goal of theseason, adding to his team-leading total. Senior Connor James (LA) who drew the lone assist on the goal did anexcellent job out muscling a Maine defender to get Gauthier the puck. Gauthierfired a wristshot from the slot area that beat Howard through the five-hole forthe score.

One area that got Denver into trouble throughout the game wasundisciplined play that led to several Maine power play opportunities. ThePioneers took three penalties in a span of less than four minutes in the latestages of the opening period. Thanks to excellent defense coupled with theoutstanding work of Berkhoel, the Black Bears were unable to capitalize ontheir chances. Sophomore sensation JimmyHoward (DET) was excellent in the opening period as he stopped many ofDenver shots to keep the game close for his team.

The Pioneers came out with energy and were outstanding intheir defensive coverage. The tight-checking, stingy defense, that Maine hadbecome known for, suddenly became Denver’s strength. Denver began to take thedefensive game to Maine. The Pioneers did an excellent job of taking away theneutral zone as well as winning the one-on-one battles.

The second period saw the chippiness in the game pick up asboth teams really went out one another with two scuffles resulting in matchingminor penalties in the period. The momentum swung back and forth all throughthe period. At the 8:16 mark, Pioneers junior Jeff Hammond would be assessed a penalty for obstruction/hookinggiving the Black Bears another opportunity to get the equalizer. While Mainewas able to generate some sustained pressure in the Denver zone, they werestill unable to capitalize on the man-advantage. One reason was their inabilityto get a good shot on net.

The third period saw the Black Bears come out with urgencyand good pressure early. Hammond would once again give the Black Bears anotherpower play opportunity as he was sent off for holding at the 3:24 mark. ThePioneers relentless pressure on the Black Bears was effective in not allowingthem to get anything set up on the power play. The Pioneers never sat back inthe entirety of the third period with the lead. They continued to attack,playing smart and were solid defensively.

In the nearly last two minutes of regulation time, thePioneers gave the Black Bears their best opportunity of the game to get theequalizer. Junior defenseman MattLaatsch was called for a hook at the 17:51 mark, giving the Black Bears yetanother power play. At the 18:26 mark, sophomore Gabe Gauthier would be called for delay of game. This would giveMaine a two-man advantage for nearly the rest of regulation time. After a timeout was called by Maine head coach, Tim Whitehead, Howard was pulled for anextra attacker, giving Maine a six-on-three power play for well over a minute.It was here that Maine’s inept power play would become glaringly obvious. The BlackBears generated few good scoring chances but their failure to simply shoot thepuck at the net as much as possible would eventually cost them the nationaltitle. The Black Bears seemed to try and make the perfect play, waiting for themost opportune moment. It was a moment that failed to come.

When the buzzer sounded, Denver had won their first nationalchampionship since 1969. The 1-0 shutout that MVP Adam Berkhoel (CHI) posted was the first in a national title gamesince 1972. Both Berkhoel and Howard were superb in the game and did just aboutall they could to help their respective team’s cause. Denver freshmandefenseman Matt Carle (SJ) and Mainefreshman Mike Hamilton (ATL) wereboth outstanding. Carle’s solid positional play continues to get better witheach game. With the departure of senior RyanCaldwell (NYI), Carle will likely see his role expanded next season.Hamilton made great strides during the season to make better use of his6’0”/200 frame, and as a result his overall game improved significantly,particularly in the post-season.